17 ETF Friendly Professors

Since the dawn of financial innovation, legendary gurus have always held the spotlight, as these individuals helped shape and develop the market we know today. Though their contributions are certainly significant, there is one group of sometimes overlooked individuals who have continually played a major role in the world of finance and economics: professors. And with the ETF industry continuing its rapid development and expansion, academics are getting on board [see Visual History Of The S&P 500].

These professors are reshaping the curriculum, teaching extensively about exchange-traded funds, which, until recently, were rarely covered in the coursework of many major universities. Some of the names on this list have even translated their academic theories into investment results, helping create some of the most intriguing ETFs out there. For those wondering who exactly is behind the ETF evolution, we highlight several well-accomplished ETF-friendly professors (in no particular order):

[If you're an ETF-friendly professor, drop us a line and let us know a bit about your work; we'd be happy to add you to the list.]

1. K. Geert Rouwenhorst

In addition to being a professor, K. Geert Rouwenhorst is the deputy dean for the MBA curriculum at the Yale School of Management. His research spans a wide array of topics, including hedge fund strategies, commodity investments and the history of financial innovation. Professor Rouwenhorst is also the co-founder and director of research of SummerHaven Index Management LLC, a pioneer in the commodity indexes space [see Energy Bull ETFdb Portfolio].

2. Robert Shiller

Robert Shiller is a professor of economics at Yale University and one of the creators of the Case-Shiller Index of U.S. house prices. There are now a number of financial instruments based on this index, including The Barclays ETN + Shiller CAPE ETN (CAPE).

3. Andrew Lo

Andrew Lo is a professor at MIT as well as the director of the MIT Laboratory for Financial Engineering. In 2009, Lo co-designed the quantitative model behind the Credit Suisse 130/30 Large-Cap Index, which is tracked by CSM [for Real Time Ratings on (CSM, A) and more try ETFdb Pro].

4. Jeremy Siegel

Jeremy Siegel is a professor of finance at the Warton School of the University of Pennsylvania and a Senior Investment Strategy Advisor at Wisdom Tree Investments, Inc. Siegel worked closely with Wisdom Tree to develop several dividend-focused exchange-traded funds.

5. Gary Gorton

Gary Gorton is a professor of finance at Yale School of Management and is currently a Research Associate of the National Bureau of Economic Research. Professor Gorton also worked with SummerHaven Index Management LLC, a pioneer in the commodity indexes space [also check out the ETF Cheat Sheet: Precious Metals].

6. James A. DiLellio

James DiLellio is a professor of decision sciences at the Graziadio School of Business Management at Pepperdine University. Professor DiLellio is an expert on portfolio management and has done extensive research on exchange-traded funds.

7. Darrol J. Stanley

Darrol Stanley is a professor of finance and accounting at Graziadio School of Business Management at Pepperdine University. Alongside his colleague James DiLellio, Professor Stanley has also provided key insight on the ETF industry, highlighting their performance relative to the broader equity markets [check out Differentiating Dividend ETFs].

8. A. Seddik Meziani

A. Seddik Meziani is the Department Chair and a professor of finance at the School of Business of Montclair State University. Meziani has written numerous books and publications on exchange-traded funds, including the well-known books “Exchange-Traded Funds as an Investment Option” and “Exchange-Traded Funds-Conceptual and Practical Investment Approaches.”

9. Pankaj “Pank” Agrrawal

Pankaj Agrrawal is a professor of finance at University of Maine and is the Founder and President of Advanced Portfolio Solutions. Professor Agrrawal’s research primarily focuses on analyzing the performance of long-short ETFs.

10. Zvi Bodie

Zvi Bodie ia a professor of management at Boston University and is a consultant at Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation. He is best know for his textbooks and publications on pension finance and investment strategy [for career and investing tips, check out Dividend.com].

11. K.J. Martijn Cremers

K.J. Martijn Cremers is a professor of finance at the University of Notre Dame and is the Associate Editor of the Review of Financial Studies and at the Review of Finance. Professor Cremers introduced a new measure of active management the “Active Share,” which has become widely used in the financial industry.

12. Joëlle Miffre

Joëlle Miffre is a professor of finance at the EDHEC Business School in France. Her research focuses on the management and pricing of commodities and equities, and her work has been featured in a number of academic journals.

13. Marco Avellaneda

Marco Avellaneda is a professor of mathematics at the Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences of New York University. In his research, Professor Avellaneda applies mathematics and econometrics to the financial market, including analysis on ETFs [also see Differentiating Dividend ETFs] .

14. William F. Sharpe

William F. Sharpe is a professor of finance at Stanford’s University’s Graduate School of Business, as well as a Nobel Prize winner in Economic Sciences. He was one of the originators of the Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM) and developed the Sharpe Ratio. Professor Sharpe frequently blogs on his website, Lifetime Finance, about general investing and finance topics.

15. Robert Korajczyk

Robert Korajczyk is a professor of finance at the Kellog School of Northwestern University and is the Director of the Zell Center for Risk Research. He has been quoted numerous times about exchange-traded funds, and teaches extensively on the topic in his classes.

16. Hendrik Bessembinder

Hendrik Bessembinder is a professor of finance at the University of Utah and is the Editor of the Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis. Professor Bessembinder has also served as a consultant for the Department of Justice, the SEC, and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission [also see How To Swing Trade ETFs].

17. Allen Carrion

Allen Carrion is an assistant professor of finance at Lehigh University as well as a consultant for the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission. The methodologies behind his research are motivated by both academic theory and his experience as a trading floor analyst.

ETFdb Newsletter

ETF Screener

ETF Database is not an investment advisor, and any content published by ETF Database does not constitute individual investment advice. The opinions offered herein are not personalized recommendations to buy, sell or hold securities. From time to time, issuers of exchange-traded products mentioned herein may place paid advertisements with ETF Database. All content on ETF Database is produced independently of any advertising relationships. Read the full disclaimer.